Colorado third baseman Garrett Atkins for the most part had a terrible World Series, but he almost came up huge for the Rockies Sunday. His homerun in the eighth inning made it 4-3 Red Sox, but Boston held on for the sweep.
Photo by David O. Williams

There is no joy in D-town

The upstart Rockies have struck out

By David O. Williams

October 29, 2007 —
As I write this I have that same sort of sick feeling I experienced three times in the late 80s and early 1990 when the Denver Broncos lost three of four Super Bowls – all by decisive margins.

It was a great run by the Colorado Rockies the last month and a half and bodes well for the future of the franchise if the previously spend-thrift Monfort brothers capitalize on fan goodwill, keep the nucleus of the team intact and add some pitching depth, but that doesn’t remove the sting of a sweep at the hands of the Red Sox.

I thought the Rocks would at least be competitive, but their lack of pitching depth (they lost three of five starters this season but still put together the most incredible stretch run in baseball history) and a record eight-day layoff after the NLCS doomed them in the World Series.

The Rockies also ran up against a team with truly great pitching, which always wins out in the postseason, and all the sizzle in their bats from that amazing stretch run was extinguished by eight days off.

As I sat in the upper-30s chill of Coors Field Saturday during the Sox Game 3 10-5 victory, it occurred to me how television has really screwed up baseball by lengthening the postseason into almost November and insisting on night games that last nearly five hours. Painful stuff.

My camera froze up for some reason – a bad omen – so the photo with this blog is of Rockies third basemen Garrett Atkins during happier times: the one-game tiebreaker against San Diego the put the Rocks in the postseason. Atkins was nearly a hero Sunday in Game 4 of the World Series, hitting a homerun in the eighth to pull Colorado to within a run. But it wasn’t meant to be.

So, just as John Elway had to taste the bitterness of defeat for so many years before finally celebrating with back-to-back Super Bowl wins, I predict the young Rockies will learn from this experience and one day win one for Todd (Helton).

Congrats to the Sox. They suffered for generations and deserve to celebrate. It’s just annoying how all things New England are coming up roses right now. Even Bode Miller is back on track, shaking off a back injury to come in fifth in the season-opening giant slalom in Austria Sunday.

But another American, Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety, was a little hotter, taking second in the race. And he’s from Park City, Utah.

So rejoice Sox fans, but remember: the west really is the best.

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